Decoding the letter I
The letter I (lowercase i', pronounced '/aɪ/), as most vowel letters in English, has four main pronunciations: *So-called “short i”, IPA phoneme /ɪ/, as in kit, fit, fitting, city or mirror *So-called “long i”, IPA phoneme /aɪ/, as in price, find, bite, biting, final or spiral. *Long "ir" monophtong (short vowel spelling), IPA phoneme /ɜː/, as in girl, bird or stirring *Long "ir" triphthong (long vowel spelling), IPA sequence /aɪə/, as in fire, hire or hiring I has also some less common pronunciations, sometimes in combination with other letters, and, of course, it can be used as schwa. As a single letter At the beginning or the middle of a word ;One syllable */ɪ/: big - bit - fill - fit - if - ill - in - inch - ink - inn - is - it - kill - kit - lick - live (verb) - print - quit - tip - wind (noun) */aɪ/: bind - blind - child - climb - find - grind - I - I'll - I'm - I've - kind - mild - mind - pint - wild - wind (verb) ;Pattern vowel-consonant-vowel A single consonant can mean anything, but a double consonant (or ck) means the sound is /ɪ/ (or /ə/) and not /aɪ/. ;Several syllables */ɪ/: independent - input - insult - solid - until */aɪ/: behind - bible - idle - library - remind - rewind */ə/: compatible - council - pencil - recipe /ˈresəpɪ/ ;As a gerund: */ɪ/: adding - going - playing - reading - studying At the end of a word ;One syllable */aɪ/: hi; Greek letters: chi, phi, pi, psi, xi */iː/: ski; Musical notes: mi, si, ti ;Several syllables */aɪ/: alibi, rabbi */iː/ or /ɪ/: bikini, broccoli, confetti, khaki, macaroni, origami, pepperoni, safari, spaghetti, sushi, taxi, tsunami, wiki, zucchini (BrE courgette) */iː/: kiwi Combined with consonants igh */aɪ/: bright, fight, flight, high, knight, light, might, night, right, sigh, sight, slightly, tight ig *"ig" as /aɪ/: align, assign, benign, design, malign, resign, sign *"ig" as /ɪg/: ignore, signal, signature, significant ir See Decoding exercises: "ir" */ɜː/: bird - birth - circle - dirty - firm - first - girl - shirt - sir - skirt - virtual */ɪ/: miracle - spirit */aɪ/: environment - irony - ironic - spiral - virus *Sequence /aɪə/: acquire - fire - hire - inspire - iron /ˈaɪərn/ - require - retire - wire ;irr See Decoding exercises: "irr" */ɪ/: irrational - irregular - irritate - mirror - squirrel */ɜː/: squirrel - stirred - stirring Silent i *business Combined with a vowel With magic e */aɪ/: bike - fine - line - live (adj.) - wise : apologise/apologize - organise/organize - prioritise/prioritize - recognise/recognize With silent e */ɪ/: determine - discipline - engine - famine - imagine - indefinite - jasmine - live (v.) - medicine */iː/: Christine - elite - machine - magazine - marine - police - routine As /j/ */jə/: behavior, behaviour, billion, Brazilian, brilliant, civilian, communion, companion, million, onion, opinion, Spaniard, union */iː.ə, jə/: auxiliary, billiards */iː.ə, jə /: Australian, convenience, familiar, genius, junior, magnolia, peculiar, pneumonia, senior ie Main article: Decoding exercises: "ie" */iː/: achieve - believe - field - piece - series */aɪ/: die - lie - tie *Unstressed final /iː/ or /ɪ/: movie :As a suffix to nouns or as a diminutive or familiar name (the same words can often be spelt y): :auntie/aunty - Bobbie/Bobby - caddie/caddy - hippie/hippy - hoodie/hoody - Jimmie/Jimmy - Johnnie/Johnny ia Main article: Decoding exercises: "ia" */ɪ/: carriage, marriage */ə/: commercial, essential, initial, financial, official, parliament, potential, social, special ;In different syllables */iːə/: appropriate - associate (adj., n.) - immediate - industrial - variable */iːeɪ/: appreciate - associate (v.) */iːɪ/: foliage /ˈfəʊliːɪdʒ/ */iːæ/ Diana /daɪˈænə/ - Diane /daɪˈæn/ */aɪə/: dialogue - dialog - giant - trial */iːə/ or /aɪə/: via Homophones See main article Homophone. *bite - byte; die - dye; hi - high; I - eye; right - rite - write; sign - sine; site - sight; size - sighs; time - thyme; Heteronyms /ɪ/ vs /aɪ/ *liver: internal organ - more live *lives: third person of verb "live" - plural of "life" *wind: air movement - to tighten a spring References See also *Decoding the letter Y *Decoding and spelling exercises: /ɪ/ vs /aɪ/ *Decoding exercises: "ia" *Decoding exercises: "ie" *Decoding exercises: "io" *Decoding exercises: "iu" *Decoding exercises: "ir" *Decoding exercises: "irr" *Decoding exercises: "irV", "yrV", "irrV" and "yrrV" *Decoding exercises: "ai" *Decoding exercises: "ei" *Decoding exercises: "oi" External links i i